Two more individuals detained in Iowa jails by immigration officials are suing the federal government, alleging their rights are being violated. In recent months, Iowa State Patrol troopers and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security have worked together in pulling over commercial truck drivers near weigh stations along Interstate 80 as part of what they […]
Clark Kauffman, Iowa Capital Dispatch
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ICE accused of maliciously staging a ‘sham’ hearing for Iowa detainee denied bond
The attorney for an immigration detainee held in the Polk County Jail says federal officials maliciously staged a “sham” court hearing orchestrated to keep his client behind bars. The case involves Suraj Vasal, who four years ago came to the United States from India seeking asylum and was then released on his own recognizance. Court […]
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ICE contract with Muscatine County Jail increased funding for detentions by 75%, stipulates ‘no public disclosures’
The Muscatine County Jail was promised a 75 percent increase in potential revenue for holding federal immigration detainees during the first year of the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration, newly disclosed records show. In March 2025, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement amended the federal government’s longstanding contract with Muscatine County for the detention of individuals […]
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Judge: City’s arrest of critic is ‘quintessential viewpoint discrimination’
Declaring that a citizen was “targeted because he criticized the police department and city leadership,” a federal judge has ruled that the City of Newton violated the rights of a critic by twice having the man arrested at city council meetings. The decision means that Noah Petersen’s lawsuit against the city for violating his constitutional […]
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Judge orders release of ICE detainee in Muscatine County Jail who faces capture, torture if deported
A federal judge has ordered the Muscatine County Jail to release an ICE detainee who had been incarcerated for almost a year after a judge ruled in his favor on an asylum request. Court records indicate Jose Yugar-Cruz, 36, entered the United States in July 2024 after fleeing his home country of Bolivia. In court […]
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Class-action lawsuit seeks to collect unpaid wages for airport restaurant workers in Iowa
A Linn County woman representing workers at airport eateries throughout Iowa has filed a potential class action lawsuit against her employer alleging violations of state and federal wage-and-hour laws. Tara Hill is suing SSP America CID, a limited liability corporation that does business in Iowa as part of SSP America Inc., the American division of […]
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Woodbury County inmate facing a year of detention sues Homeland Security
A Woodbury County jail inmate is suing the federal government, alleging she’s being unlawfully detained by ICE and faces a year of confinement while being denied her due process rights. The case is one of hundreds of similar lawsuits filed around that nation against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and […]
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Public defender sues state, claiming she was fired for comments about Charlie Kirk
The State of Iowa is being sued by an attorney who claims she was fired from the Office of the State Public Defender for online comments made in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s murder in September. Maria Ruhtenberg, an attorney for the State Public Defender, is suing the State of Iowa and State Public Defender […]
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A third lawsuit challenges Iowa’s new law to support small, rural pharmacies by regulating drug-cost middle-men
A third lawsuit has been filed against Iowa’s insurance commissioner over the legality of a new state law regulating pharmacy benefit managers, the third-party companies that act as intermediaries between insurance companies, drug manufacturers and pharmacies. A group of insurance companies argue SF 383, signed into law earlier this year, “upends the prescription-drug coverage that […]
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ICE detainees held in Iowa jails are being denied due process, federal judge says
A federal judge has ordered the U.S. government to follow due process and provide bond hearings for two individuals being detained in Iowa county jails by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Both people have sought asylum in the United States, claiming they are fleeing persecution in their home country. In recent months, hundreds of […]
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Judge rules in favor of Iowa teacher facing dismissal for Charlie Kirk-related posts
A federal judge has issued a temporary restraining order preventing the Creston Community School District from moving forward with plans to fire a teacher for her comments regarding the slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Last month, Melisa Crook, a high school English teacher from Creston, was informed that she was facing termination for a social […]
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Sioux City roofer held in jail by ICE sues over being denied a bond hearing
An Iowa man who claims he is being held in jail while facing deportation, without the opportunity to argue for release on bond, is suing county and federal officials for alleged violations of his due process rights. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa, alleges the actions of federal […]
